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Matthew Chapter 1- Study Aide Elder Joe Nettles
Verses 1-16 As you begin studying the 1st chapter of Matthew you may feel a bit deflated. Why do I say this? Well, when most people begin their reading in the first gospel account in the New Testament they are excited over the prospect of Jesus and are rip-roaring ready to get into the “meat” of his birth, ministry, and message(that’s a good sentiment and is how we should feel as believers in Christ!). However, what they find at the starting gate of Matthew is a genealogy - not considered very meaty, is it? It is, however, very important that we pause and try to understand the importance of this “boring” genealogy. You’ll notice that it recounts the family connections of many familiar Bible characters all the way down to Joseph, the adoptive earthly father of the child Jesus. The Jews relied very heavily on family trees. In Genesis 12:1-3, God made promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a blessed and special people and that of his “seed” (offspring) would be the source from which all families of the earth should be blessed. In Genesis 49:10, God further revealed that this “Shiloh” would be born of the house of Judah. The Jews kept very strict records of their family tree awaiting the coming of the Promised One. This “boring” genealogy shows the indisputable evidence that Jesus Christ is of the direct lineage of Abraham and is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham and, in effect, to all his redeemed! This particular family tree connects Abraham to Joseph. We may think it a bit odd that the point would be made showing Joseph a direct descendant of Abraham when we know that Joseph played no role in the conception of Jesus. It is important to know that the Jews were (are) patriarchal (this means that the fathers rather than the mothers took the most prominent role and received the most respect). Knowing this, it makes good sense that the Bible proves the authenticity of Joseph’s relation to Abraham seeing that he was head of the home.
*Study Point* Study the females noted in this genealogy- Thamar (Genesis ch.38); Rachab (also, Rahab. Joshua ch.2); Ruth (the book of Ruth); and “her that had been the wife of Urias”( or Bath-sheba. 2 Samuel ch.11). What manner of people were they? _______________________________________________________________________
Verses 17-25 As we begin again in our study of Matthew chapter 1, we have a summary statement that 42 generations (or cycles of Daddies and Mommas having children) passed from the time that God made covenant promises to Abraham to the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Forty-two generations is a long time, isn’t it? Could you imagine waiting that long for a promise to come to pass? It was hard for the impatient Israelites to remain faithful and trusting in God all that time. In fact, they failed to remain faithful to God seemingly more than they were committed to him. There are a couple of lessons in this. First, we must look to the Bible frequently to remind ourselves that God is sovereign (this means He answers to no one. He has no boss. No one tells Him what to do). God has promised eternal life to his children and with that life he has promised blessings while we live here on earth if we are obedient. However, God has never promised that he will bless us according to our time table (that means, when we want the them)! We are undeserving of even the “smallest” of God’s blessings so we shouldn’t expect the God of the universe to answer to our demands or cater to our whimsies. God has never done anything late or early. He’s always right on time! Let us be patient and faithful in times of need. Secondly, this points out for us that God’s people (which the nation of Israel served as an example) fail sometimes. We aren’t as faithful as we should be. We don’t pray as often as we should. We get too wrapped up in ourselves rather than meditating and laboring in the name of Jesus. Despite all these shortcomings, God is still faithful! Let us ever be careful to stand in Jesus rather than lie down with the world. Moving on to verses 18-25, we find that a good man is troubled. Joseph is in agony because the woman that he loves is pregnant and they haven’t even gotten married yet. Joseph doesn’t know at this point that Mary hasn’t been unfaithful to him, but has been visited by the Holy Ghost and is carrying God’s only begotten Son. This was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” As Joseph in his ignorance ponders what to do about his fiancée’s pregnancy, he is visited by an angel who declares to him the truth of the child Jesus in Mary’s womb. Pay special attention to verse 21- “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: For he shall save his people from their sins.” Taking this verse into consideration, let us ask some very important questions. Firstly, did she bring forth a son? Yes. The Bible and history have proven that. Secondly, did they call his name JESUS? Absolutely. Now, thirdly, has he saved his people from their sins? This is where arguments might get started between Christians of different beliefs. If we believe the first two statements regarding Jesus’ birth, then why should we doubt the third? The angel ( a ministering servant sent from God) told Joseph that Jesus was coming for a certain people, “his people”. Not only that, but that people would be doubtlessly saved from their sin debt! Happy news from heaven! In the last 200 years, people of other beliefs have referred to Primitive Baptists as “hardshells” or “hardshalls” because we rely so heavily on the promises God has made to his people. These promises have been expressed in scripture many times with the term “shall”. See Genesis 12:3 “…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”; Psalm 110:3 “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power…”; Isaiah 42:4 “He shall not fail nor be discouraged…”; Hebrews 10:37 “ For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” God forbid the we should ever become soft on holding to these promises!
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